English Premier League Awards For The Month Of August
The only award that matters is the big silver one, topped with a golden crown which is handed to a team of players at the end of the season. That is really the only award that matters in the Premier League, but that does not mean that the other awards should not be handed out.
The first on many to come, August has come and gone and that is one less month of Premier League football, but it is one month of football for which everyone can pass judgement and discuss.
The following are awards which I have deemed worthy of being handed to a single player due to his contributed or lack thereof during the month of August.
Goalkeeper Of The Month Award Goes To...
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One of the easiest awards to hand out was the goalkeeper of the month.
Joe Hart proved to everyone that he is worthy of holding the fort between the sticks for both club and country. He has also helped place his manager in a bright light after he made the decision to ditch Shay Given as No.1 and allow the young Englishman to take the reigns.
Hart produced multiple top class saved and was the sole reason behind his club not starting the season off with a loss to Tottenham.
Joe could have gone the entire month of August without conceding if it was not for a late penalty converted by Darren Bent.
Defender Of The Month Award Goes To...
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Bacary Sagna produced nothing special over the month of August, but most importantly he did nothing wrong.
The right back has been consistently solid for Arsenal and has produced performances in all their games so far that could easily be forgotten but should not go unmentioned.
Nothing Sagna did in either of the game will probably will remembered done the line, but he did his job with a great level of professionalism and competence.
He also helped Arsenal going forward and has opened room for Theo Walcott to work in. He has also pitched in with a game-winning assist.
Midfielder Of The Month Award Goes To...
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Florent Malouda has began the season for Chelsea in fantastic form. If Malouda was English and not French the media may have started whispering the title of potential Footballer of the Year and, or "best player in football at present".
But with the Frenchman being exactly that - French - his excellent performances have not seen the credit they deserve. Chelsea have been dealt the news that they will be without Frank Lampard, but that will not be a major blow to the London team, or a blow of any kind due to the dominate force Malouda has been.
He has show great vision and determination getting forward and getting onto second-chance balls to convert them into goals.
Striker Of The Month Award Goes To...
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Many people may be looking at the above photo and saying "that is not Didier Drogba", and congratulations, you are correct.
Andy Carroll has been a revelation since entering the Premier League. Yes, Drogba has started very strongly with four goals and three assists, but is that surprising coming from the league's previous top goalscorer.
What is surprising however is how strongly and quickly Carroll has adapted to life in the top flight. He not only has managed to retain his physical presence which caused teams trouble last year, but he has continued his goal scoring form.
Carroll has hit four goals in three games and could have easily had more. On his opening game away to the might Manchester United, Carroll went head to head with Nemanja Vidic and was very close on a number of occasions.
He then hit four goals in his following two games.
Coach Of The Month Award Goes To...
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He may not boast having the most ear-friendly accent, or luscious locks, but one thing he can boast about is that his plucky Blackpool side are holding their own with the big boys in the Premier League.
After having a yo-yo start to the season with a 4-0 hammering of Wigan, and then enduring a 6-0 thrashing at the hands of Arsenal, Holladay prevented the ship sink by grabbing a point against Fulham and cementing his team's belief in survival.
No one gave Blackpool a chance of Premier League survival, much like there chances of winning the playoffs last year but Holladay is relishing the chance to prove them all wrong.
One more victory for Blackpool in the Premeir League and a 50-foot statue of Hollaway will be erected in his honor.
The It Is All Your Fault Award For August Goes To...
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It is very hard to throw the blame of a team on the shoulders of the goalkeeper, but when you look at Wigan and Chris Kirkland's situation it is an argument that may stand.
Kirkland allowed ten goals in his first two games, four of which came against Blackpool. Not only is picking the ball out of your own net ten times in two games embarrassing, but Kirkland was very questionable for the majority of the goals.
Kirkland was dropped for Wigan's most recent games against Tottenham and not only did the team win the game, but they managed to keep a clean sheet at White Hart Lane.
Captain Kirk may not be beamed up anytime soon and he may be wearing that bench on his backside for quite a while.
The Deja Vu Award For August Goes To...
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Avram Grant can never seem to catch a break. After taking over at Chelsea in the aftermath of Jose Mourinho, Grant barely missed out on winning the Premier League and failed to winning the Champions League in penalties - thank you very much John Terry.
After that debacle, he was then neck deep in it again with Portsmouth who held up the other 19 Premier League teams while also trying to keep their pants above their ankles due to their financial difficulties.
A new season, a new team, and new begin, same old story. Grant is stuck at the foot of the table in what seems to be a desperate situation at West Ham.
The Not Again Award For August Goes To...
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No fan of football, or any sport for that matter can enjoy seeing a player suffer an injury and sympathy is always the natural response to a player who has to endure one, but when Robin Van Persie suffers an injury it is more of a case of not again.
Van Persie is a fantastic player and he holds great quality, but the problem for him and Arsenal is that he never seems to be fit to produce the goods on the field.
The Dutch striker was handed additional time off by Arsene Wenger to try and ensure a fitter and more well rested Van Persie returned from the World Cup, but after just 20 or so minutes for Arsenal against Blackburn he went down clutching his leg and is yet again a injury concern for Wenger.
The Talk To The Hand Award For August Goes To...
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Two questions!
First, What did the hand say to the face? Slap!
Second, what was Jussi Jaaskelainen thinking. After a coming together with Birmingham's Roger Johnson, Bolton's No.1 stood up, squared up to the defender and then slapped him across the face.
That resulted in a red card and a dismissal for the keeper. His team came back from two goals down - one of which was concede prior to the red card - to draw the game two all, but the action of the experienced keeper was just idiotic.
He will also miss the next three league games for the Wanderers.
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